Social Documentary

Filmmakers from the fall 2012 Human Rights Film Series sat down with our graduate fellows to analyze the fundamentals of their films. Answering questions about structural elements, character arcs, creative content, and social impact yielded some surprising results. Read more...

Filmmakers like Luisa Dantas are paving the way for more people to understand and experiment with web-native documentary production. What does this really mean, and what can we learn from them so we don’t have to reinvent the wheel? Read more...

Traditionally when making a documentary, filmmakers present a film that reflects only a sliver of their amassed content. We shoot and shoot and shoot some more, then edit and cut the vast majority of the content to fit the hour or 90-minute mold dictated by broadcast or theatrical release. You see one streamlined version of events: the one we’ve authored and edited, no more no less. However, this shoot, slash and sausage method is no longer the be all-end-all for documentary films. Read more...

Featured Topics

Connect With Us!

Fair Use at Work in the Visual Arts

Assessing fair use in light of shared professional understandings is a respected practice. Invoking professional practices provides members of a community with a clear framework in which to apply fair use with confidence, knowing the shared norms of their field. Having a code of best practices allows them to share their common understandings with others.